The Samariá Gorge is a national park in the island of Crete, one of the major touristic attractions of the island. The gorge is in the prefecture of Chania in the South West of Crete. It was created by a small river running between the White Mountains (Lefká Óri) and Mount Volakias. There are a number of other gorges in the White Mountains. The gorge is 18 km long and is often claimed to be the longest in Europe, although this is disputed. The most famous part of the gorge is the section known as the 'Iron Gates', where the sides of the gorge close to about 4 meters in and reach up to 500 meters high.
